The Little Guardian
by CityCat
Summary: Count Ulrik believed in Lord Viktor's plan: to train lycans to guard vampires in the vulnerable daylight hours. After the initial plan crumbled, Ulrik revives the dream in two newly changed lycans, Szilveszter and Lidia. Sometime later, a lycan child is born who presents new opportunity to create the perfect servant. Does love really conquer all, or is freedom the ultimate prize?
1. The New Team

**The Little Guardian**

Lidia awoke in the middle of the night with a woozy groan, bringing a hand up to rub the back of her head where it rested uncomfortably on cement floor. _Where am I? _she thought desperately as she tried to remember her last moment of consciousness. _I was on a bus, ready to go to the women's college in Budapest. The bus picked up more people. Then the odorless smoke came. People were falling over in the seats. I felt dizzy. Couldn't stay awake…_ She felt enough strength in her muscles to sit up and take in more of her surroundings. Her vision was still fuzzy but gradually clearing up. She grasped at the nearest tangible thing and felt cold, steel bars. _Am I in jail? _Using the bars to steady herself, she stood up to see than she was in a cell approximately ten feet by fifteen feet in area that was sandwiched between two identical cells on the shorter ends. She turned around to the cell nearest to her and made out two sleeping men inside. Across the aisle outside the cells, Lidia could see that every enclosure contained two bodies. She gasped when she heard a low moan coming from the opposite end of her cell.

Her cellmate was a tall, slender fellow with thick black hair and a rounder, yet sharply-defined face with the high cheekbones of a pure-blooded Magyar. Lidia thought she recognized him as one of the passengers on the bus. _What are we doing here?_ came the recurring question in her mind. More moans and groans echoed around her as the sleeping people began to wake up. Lidia could infer from the simultaneous arousals that they were all knocked out by the same gaseous compound on that same bus. In the distance, a jingling of keys on a ring could be heard before the low whoosh of an opening door. Footsteps accompanied by rattling metal made their way down the aisle. This sound was enough to startle her roommate who rolled onto his stomach and rose to his feet in two seconds. His light brown eyes were wide with both shock and apprehension. Lidia looked him over to assess if he was a threat, but he seemed too interested in the sounds outside to pay her any attention. Standing up, the man was two heads taller than her at a whopping height of six feet and six inches. Luckily for him, Lidia mused, the ceiling of the cells were more than twice his height.

The sound of jingling keys was now closer this time, followed by new creaks of metal hinges with the opening and closing of cell doors. After a full minute of the repetitive noises, Lidia finally saw what was going on. A group of six armored guards dressed from head to toe were carrying capped buckets to the prisoners. One bucket was deposited in each cell. Accompanying the procession were two other men; one wielded a long club to keep the prisoners from charging out, and the other one brought up the rear, dressed in a simple tunic and cotton pants tucked into weather-resistant boots. Lidia found this last character most intriguing at the moment. Despite the man's attire, his upright posture and the calculating expression in his mature face gave him the appearance of a noble in disguise. Eventually, the guards stopped at her cell and she made brief eye contact with the unarmored man. His cold expression softened as he looked into her face, and Lidia even saw a glimpse of a smile. The cell door opened, and she stepped back as the guard in front waved his club at her in warning. Another guard stepped inside to drop off a bucket and then quickly backed out. The first guard closed the cell door and lowered his club to reach for his keys. Out of Lidia's periphery, she saw her cellmate run up to the door in two long strides and slam his body against the bars. The startled guard fell backwards with a disgruntled shout as the cell door swung open. The other guards dropped their buckets and drew their weapons. Some had swords, and others carried cruel, thin whips. The man took one, wild-eyed look at his opponents and ran away in the opposite direction. Lidia silently cheered him on as the man and the guards disappeared from sight.

"He will not get far," she heard a man's voice nearly whisper into her ear. She nearly jumped when she realized the older gentleman was still standing at her cell. "You are wise not to run."

"Who are you?" Lidia mustered up the courage to ask. Her mouth was dry, and it occurred to her that she hadn't had anything to drink in what felt like several hours.

The man's countenance hardened once more. "I am Count Ulrik." He raised his hand to stop her from asking the obvious follow-up questions. "That is all I shall tell you in this moment." He pointed at the sealed tin bucket. "Inside is your dinner. I suggest that you take advantage of it to keep up your strength." He noticed her skeptical frown. "I assure you that you are in no immediate danger." As confused and as frightened as she was, Lidia found the man's words oddly reassuring. She simply nodded and turned to the other end of her cell where an eruption of struggling noises was drawing closer. Four guards each claimed a limb of the runaway man who could only wiggle in defiance four feet from the ground as he was brought back to the cell. At a signal from the guard with the keys, the man was tossed to the back of the cell like a sack of potatoes. He grunted loudly in pain as he hit the cement hard. He made no effort to get up again. Lidia frowned with pity and debated whether she ought to help him sit up. She turned her head back to the outside, but Count Ulrik and his party had already moved on.

Lidia sat down in a corner and listened to the other prisoners eat whatever was in the buckets. The bucket in her cell was left untouched as she studied the man in the opposite corner. He was staring blankly at the ground. "Do you want to eat?" she tried, keeping her voice soft. The man flashed her a quick, steely look and slowly sat up. He clenched his jaws together and grimaced in pain as he brought himself a few feet closer to her.

"Why should I want to live?" he turned his head away from her and nodded to the direction he ran towards. "Around the corner are perhaps fifty more cells like these. The men inside looked more animal than human with these metal rings around their throats." He gestured to his own throat with his thumb and forefinger as he recreated the teeth he saw pointing into the base of the wearers' necks. "This is a dark, hopeless place," he concluded bitterly. Lidia saw no evidence to disprove his comment, but the Count's parting words to her gave her some hope.

"The man with the guards doesn't want us harmed. He told me so." She waited a moment to see if this held any water with him, but her cellmate kept his silence. "I'm going to eat. We will find out more later, I promise." She planted herself near the bucket and popped off the lid. Steam rose, carrying the savory aroma of beef and onion stew. Lidia found two wooden spoons propped up against the inner sides of the bucket and took one to scoop up a generous mouthful. Her eyelids fluttered at the rich, meaty taste complimented by the perfect quantity of paprika. She savored the meal until she was too full for more. She dropped her spoon back into the bucket and placed the lid on top. Surprisingly, half of the bucket's contents still remained. "You're missing out on good food," she sighed as she scooted herself away from the bucket to lie down. "There's plenty left if you change your mind." The man nodded once to acknowledge that he heard her.

"I suppose this whole thing was a setup, huh?" she continued, mostly to herself. "I was supposed to board a bus going to an all-women's college, and yet you and some other men were picked up at the next stop." She shook her head. "I would have been studying biology by now. Why didn't I just get off that bus when I suspected something was wrong?" This earned a scoff from her gloomy cellmate.

"I was to be sent to a reformatory school for excessive drinking and fighting." He smiled wryly. "This prison scene would all make sense except for you." He studied her like she would study a book. "You do not belong here, wherever "here" is." His eyes land on the bucket, and Lidia recognized a gleam of hunger in his stare. "As long as you're bent on living, you'll need someone to protect you." He worked through the soreness in his afflicted muscles to move and was thankful when Lidia sat up to slide the stew closer to him. She lied back down and watched him eat, feeling sleepy and full.

"At least I have company," she murmured, closing her eyes. "I am Lidia, by the way." A few seconds of silence indicated that she caught the man mid-bite.

"Szilveszter," he answered before consuming another bite.

"Were you born on December 31st, then?"

Szilveszter chuckled. "You guessed it." He decided that he liked her company in the midst of this hellish den. He wanted to know more about her when he finished his stew, but by then, she was sound asleep. He yawns and found himself suddenly very tired as well. He was half asleep before his head hit the floor.

When Lidia woke up from her long sleep, her left shoulder was in agony. Dried blood from her trapezius muscle ran down her back into her light brown hair and down the side of her bare breast. She stiffened in panic and crossed her right forearm over her chest. Sitting up, she saw her clothes in tatters around her under a barred window. Stars twinkled outside, but Lidia could not see any moon. _This is a new cell. _The other one, she recalled did not have such a window. She turned her head to count the number of cells this time when she felt something strong and foreign on her neck. Her left hand shot up to touch the bulky metal collar that was fastened with a bar lock. She winced as her fingers found spikes in the collar that angled inward toward her throat. _The wild men in the other section, _she pieced together Szilveszter's eerie experience. _These must be the metal rings he saw._ Speaking of which, she found the tall gentleman lying on his right side turned toward the wall with his shredded clothes covering his lower half. The ends of his short black hair touched the collar on his neck. He, too, had a deep wound between his left shoulder and his neck that looked very irritated. Now Lidia was afraid.

"Szilveszter? Are you awake?" she whispered timidly.

"Yes," he murmured in response.

"What do you think happened to us?"

Her cellmate heaved a heavy sigh. "I am not certain, but I think whoever runs this place is turning us into those animal-men I saw. We slept through everything. Food was drugged." He made a fist with his left hand and punched it into the brick wall with an angry growl. "I wish someone would just tell us something!" Lidia silently agreed with him and tried to make herself as comfortable as possible in the space they shared. She wadded up the scrap fabrics to make a small pillow for her head. As long as Szilveszter was content to stare at the wall, she didn't mind uncovering her chest.

Several minutes passed before Lidia heard a door open. This time, only four guards walked in the aisle. Short shackles rested over their armored shoulders as they collected the prisoners, two by two. Lidia stood up with some fabric to cover herself as she neared the bars. The guards were linking the naked prisoners together by the wrists, forming one string of bodies. _Oh, no. _When they arrived at her cell, one guard took her firmly by the arm and led her out to the back of the chain line. The bearded man she was attached to smirked at the sight of her bare body, but he dared not make a move to touch her. Not while being watched. Two guards seized Szilveszter by the upper arms and dragged him to his feet. He shouted in pain from his shoulder wound, but he did not fight the guards this time. Like Lidia, Szilveszter was willing to cooperate if it meant he would hear an explanation for everything that transpired up to this point. The two cellmates were linked together and then led down the line to collect the other pairs. With Lidia's arms pulled down to her sides by the men beside her, all modesty was lost.

Lidia counted twenty heads in total when the guards led them out of the dungeon. Including herself, there were five female prisoners. The other two pairs shared cells, leaving her the oddball out with the only mixed arrangement. Beyond the flight of steps that led up to the exit was an intimidating, yet majestic gothic castle with more floors than layers in an onion. To the right of the castle was a large courtyard housed inside a tall, thick wall. The wall made a wide curve around a large plot of mountainous land that was comparable to a small kingdom. Lidia strained her eyes to see more until she was pulled into the castle's side door. She followed the others into a grand hall made of stone, illuminated by tall flames burning in large braziers. In the back of the hall were a dozen fair-skinned people dressed in fine, aristocratic garments sitting in lounge chairs talking quietly amongst themselves. Every hand was decorated with at least one ring, and Lidia never felt so exposed. The voices died down as the prisoners were made to stand in a line before the nobles. Lidia bowed her head with the single hope that this would all be over soon.

"Welcome to Castle Corvinus," Count Ulrik spoke up from one of the chairs in the back. He stood up with a smile that was not unfriendly and strode to the prisoners. "As you have no-doubt realized, this was not your intended destination." Lidia heard someone mutter something along the lines "No dip, Sherlock" before a guard slapped him across the face. Count Ulrik made no further answer to this and continued. "The truth is that all of you have been closely watched and hand-picked to fulfill very important duties. But first, only one of you will be chosen to be the daylight guardian of my estate." Several of the lords and ladies gasped at that statement. "Indeed." He turned to address his peers. "It has been quite some time since any of us brought the lycans into the light where they belong. With the recent flare-up of attacks, I submit that the time has come to put _real_ trust in our guardians." He turned back around to scrutinize the newly-changed lycans who now looked more puzzled than embarrassed. "There is much to explain. You will learn and understand it all in due time. For now, I need someone who is strong, intelligent, and brave." Those were the qualities Count Ulrik saw in an ideal guardian. He paced down the line and eventually stopped at Szilveszter. "This one." He locked eyes with a guard. "Get him out of the line."

The guard hastily unlocked Szilveszter's shackles and pulled him to the side. Lidia lifted her head to watch what was going on. The guard began to take off his helmet, his weapons, and his heavy plates of armor, leaving only his chain mail undershirt. He took a step back and assumed a basic fighting stance. "Go on, give him a punch," Count Ulrik encouraged Szilveszter. But the tall man was not in the fighting mood and politely covered his groin with his hands. With a crisp frown, the Count nodded to the guard who charged at the freed captive. Szilveszter gritted his teeth and allowed himself to be knocked around. When he was knocked to the floor after a dozen jabs, two armored guards scooped him back up from behind. Count Ulrik walked to him with a scowl, grabbed the front of Szilveszter's collar, and pulled his head down to his level. "Why do you refuse to fight now?" he hissed.

"Because I am not an animal you can make perform," Szilveszter replied in as calm a voice as he could muster.

The Count locked eyes with him for a few seconds and gathered that this giant Hungarian was not afraid of him or of any consequence he could dish out for disobedience. He broke eye contact and stepped toward the other prisoners. "If he won't fight," he began, stopping at Lidia. "Let's see what my runner-up choice will do." He snapped his fingers and the girl was freed from the line. He seized her by the arm and planted her in front of the de-armored guard. Too stunned to move, she let the strange man drag her into the spotlight. As far as she could deduce, there was no alternative. Lidia timidly looked up at the guard, searching his face for any hidden message of mercy. Only a cold, passive stare reflected in his face. Suddenly, he started to run toward her with his arm pulled back, ready to strike her with a fist. Lidia did the only thing she could think of in that moment that would give her the best chances of survival: she ran toward Szilveszter and hoped that the guards wouldn't interfere. The big man shook off the armored guards with an infuriated growl and charged at the running aggressor. The guard swung, and Szilveszter stopped him cold by grabbing his fist with his left hand, squeezing hard enough to make the other man groan. His right hand came up to grab the man by the throat and pushed him backwards. He met the floor with the back of his head and gave a surprised yell of pain. Szilveszter turned around and ran back toward Lidia who appeared to be okay and even in awe of what she just witnessed. The fallen guard quickly picked himself back up. He did not make another move to attack.

"What is the point of all this?" rasped an ancient voice from the back of the room. The curious prisoners swayed their line to the side to see a pale, grumpy man clothed in fine black robes sitting steps above them in an elevated throne. His light, icy eyes stared with disinterest. "You foolishly invite danger and death into your own home, Ulrik. They cannot be trusted."

The Count boldly stepped forward to the voice of Viktor, the most ruthless and intelligent Elder of the vampires. "My Lord," he began, bowing his head in reverence. "Initial distrust is expected. They do not yet know why they are here. I am aware of the risks and have prepared for them." He points to Szilveszter. "This one will be no threat to anyone else while under my hand." He then turns to the small cluster of aristocrats. "And under the guidance of my dear wife." Out of the crowd, a slim woman who looked to be somewhere in the mid-forties stood up and glided to her husband's side. She glanced in Lidia's direction and gave her a small, pleased smile. "At least grant us the opportunity to try to make a guardian of him." A long moment of silenced passed as everyone in audience awaited on the Elder's answer.

"I still side against uncertainty," Viktor began. "However, your centuries of loyalty to the Coven and Council speak to the integrity of your endeavor. My oversight stops at your home. You may attend to your affairs in peace." Viktor raised a pale hand, and the guards moved toward Lidia to herd her toward the other prisoners.

"Wait," the Countess spoke up, stopping the guards. "I want her."

The Count blinked at his wife's outburst and squeezed her hand. "Don't you think taking one in is risky enough? She cowers in the face of danger; we don't need her."

"He needs her," she whispered as fiercely as any man, giving his hand a returning squeeze. "You won't earn his obedience without her, I promise you that. He would do anything to protect her." The Count gave this some thought and finally nodded.

"We have decided to take them both—as a team," he announced to the others. "Lord Viktor, I offer you the rest of this lot as tribute to our thriving empire."

"I accept your generous…donation," Viktor answered with some pause, knowing that he would receive the newborn lycans that Ulrik rejected. The naked prisoners whimpered in fear as more guards entered the room to escort them into the courtyard where the branding iron awaited them. The other nobles rose from their lounge chairs and began to follow the rest outside where their entertainment would continue. Viktor left the hall to view the courtyard from the balcony in his personal chambers.

"Bring these two something suitable to wear," Count Ulrik ordered the two remaining guards. When they left, the population in the room was down to four. Lidia clung to Szilveszter like a safety blanket while the Countess looked them over with curious eyes that seemed youthful and spirited despite her age.

"Do not worry," the Countess said with a kind smile. "We will take good care of you. What are your names?"

"What are these?" Szilveszter muttered, poking at his collar in annoyance. "Are we some kind of animal to you people?"

The Count stepped forward. "In a word, yes. You are no longer human. You have been transformed while you were asleep…into lycans."

"What is a 'lycan'?" Lidia chimed in, her curiosity ebbing away her fear.

"A lycan is a species that deviated from the werewolf," the Countess said. The newborn lycans' disturbed countenances did not go unnoticed. "As shocking as it sounds, werewolves are, indeed, real. They are the paramount threat to our existence. By "our," I mean—"

"Vampires," the Count finished with grave seriousness. "That is what we are." He gestured to himself, his wife, the empty lounge chairs, and lastly, Viktor's throne. "And being what we are, we must sleep in the daylight hours. Our best hope for protection during these hours are supernatural guardians who are unaffected by sun's rays. That is where you two come in."

"The collars," Szilveszter interjected, more concerned with the shackle around his neck than anything else.

"A precautionary measure," the Count explained coolly. "Our first attempt with changing humans into lycans had some unforeseen consequences. They began to act more like beasts than men, and we had no choice but to treat them as such." He nodded to Szilveszter. "You saw them in their primal state only two nights ago." He caught Lidia's alarmed stare. "But you needn't worry about regressing like them. Over time, the virus weakens—and you both were bitten by a quaternary descendent of the first lycan. All the same, Viktor has decreed that every lycan must wear a collar to prevent the change into the werewolf form. It is for your own good as well as ours."

He let that sink in as the guards returned with clothing. Lidia gratefully accepted a two-layered dress with dark brown velvet sleeves and skirt with a light, dusty brown leather bodice to decorate the front as well as function as a bra. The guard also gave her underwear, stockings, and ankle-length leather boots. Lidia's outfit seemed way behind the present era, but she supposed anything was better than staying naked. Szilveszter was given black slacks, a matching long-sleeved black shirt, underwear, soft, satin-cotton socks, and low-heeled boots in black leather. Save for the collar, Szilveszter looked like any other man about town.

"Will we see our families again?" Lidia inquired, although she was certain she already knew the answer.

"Sorry, no," the Countess answered flatly. "There is no rejoining the outside world. Now that you are no longer human, you don't belong in it." Lidia's eyes stung and her heart sank as if she was just told her whole family just died.

"I have to go to school!" she exclaimed as two tears ran down her cheeks. If she was never going to see her family again, her one dream to study life was all she had now.

"I will arrange for you to have the necessary books and supplies you will need for your studies," Count Ulrik chimed in. "You two will mainly be required during the daylight hours. At night, I am hopeful to give you free rein over my estate." He nodded to the guards who took their places behind Lidia and Szilveszter. "Speaking of which, I am keen to show you my estate now." He led the way out another side door and spent the quarter mile explaining the history of vampires, werewolves, and lycans to bring the newcomers up to speed. He emphasized the uncontrollable nature of the beastly change an uncollared lycan underwent under full moonlight. "I had to make sure you survived your first change. Not all changed humans are strong enough to survive the bite."

The vampires' house was more modest than Lidia expected after seeing the grand castle. It was two levels about thirty feet tall with dimensions of roughly 3,000 square feet. The A-frame structure had a black brick roof with a chimney and a smoky gray exterior with white double doors. The surrounding land was grassy with a well-maintained flower garden and a three-tiered fountain that connected with a koi pond. Underneath a full, starry sky, the house looked like a cozy, romantic villa. "Here we are: home," the Countess said as she walked in front of the group with a bronze key in hand. She opened the double doors and welcomed the new lycans into the foyer. Lidia noted that aside from a few antique cabinets, paintings, and chandeliers, the furniture was modern. Soft, leather couches surrounding a silver marble tea table denoted the living room. A shiny black harpsichord stood in the front of the living room facing the staircase.

"Where are we supposed to sleep?" Szilveszter asked, his eyes bouncing warily between the Count, Countess, and the ever-present guards at his back. Lidia solemnly nodded, also wanting to know where her own space was.

"Your room is right over here," the Countess answered with a smile as she glided down a long hallway past the kitchen. At the end of the hall was a locked door that required a key to open. Once the Countess opened it, Szilveszter and Lidia peered inside. The space was quite roomy with a queen-sized bed dressed with fine cotton linens and a comforter, a wooden dresser with a mirror, a wooden armoire, two desks with rolling office chairs, and an attached bathroom with both a shower and a deep bathtub. It was not the most lavish of rooms, but it was well-supplied with everything a person could need to feel right at home. "We really only expected to bring home one of you, so you'll have to share quarters." The lycans shared a look that conveyed mutual trust with the roommate arrangement. Lidia's impression of the Magyar so far was that he was the type who kept mostly to himself. She didn't foresee him bothering her in any way. Szilveszter's impression of Lidia so far was that she played "smart" but severely underestimated the danger they were both in. The school girl was taking their situation a little too well, in his opinion. It also occurred to him that she might still be in an advanced state of shock to properly react.

"Are they sharing our bed too?" the new lycan male asked with a scowl, jabbing a thumb at the guards at his back.

"No," Count Ulrik replied by his wife's side. "In fact, you may leave us now, gentlemen." The guards glanced at each other and slowly withdrew to the front door. They were hesitant to leave but certainly not stupid enough to defy a direct order from a highly valued member of the Council. "While you get settled in, would you two like something to eat?"

Lidia dumbly nodded, feeling numb and empty of emotion. Even though the guards were gone now, she still felt invisible eyes on her. The nobles' apparent ease and curiosity in them mixed with their yarn of vampires and werewolves and something else piqued the notion that this was all some sort of psychological game. "The food won't be poisoned, will it?" The Count shook his head.

"Not this time. You have my word that I will never drug your food again." He beckoned them into the kitchen. "Come, come! I assume you are familiar with the modern kitchen equipment." He opened the double fridge doors to reveal plastic drawer and iron racks stocked with fresh produce, eggs, milk, cheese, and thawing beef and chicken wrapped in butcher paper. The Countess turned the handle to the pantry door to show them the bread, rice, beans, noodles, snack foods, and spices all labeled in a rack. Lidia drew in a deep breath. She was looking at more food than she ever saw in her own house of five.

"Is this all…for us?" She lifted a thin brown eyebrow at the Count, who merely grinned at her inquiry.

"All for you two, yes. We take our blood in the early evenings, which is stored in the cellar. We have no appetite for mortal food anymore." _There goes the vampire lore again_, Lidia thought. _I suppose there's nothing I can do except to play along. _

"Sir," she began as a logical loophole surfaced to mind. "You said we are not human anymore, but these collars keep us from changing. So why bother turning us into monsters at all?" The Count's grin vanished into a serious line.

"Human blood is too tempting for most of our kind. We entertain often, and it wouldn't do to have two humans walking around like easy bait. The more important reason is that, despite the drawback of the ugly transformation, your new lycan bodies are much more powerful among the ranks of the supernatural. When your guardian training begins tomorrow, you will see that your senses and physical limits are heightened beyond mortal comprehension." He turned halfway toward the stairs. "Eat and try to rest. We have much to do tomorrow night."


	2. New Skills and New Faces

Lidia and Szilveszter waited until their hosts departed up the stairs before either one of them spoke. It was Szilveszter who broke the silence. "You are not taken in by this, are you?" He gestured to the food and then to the whole house. "Even the prettiest, diamond-studded cage is still a cage. And these…" He reached behind his neck and gave the collar a test pull toward his throat. He clenched his teeth and winced at the sensation before pushing the ring forward again. "It burns us, this metal." He wagged his head of black hair in confusion. "Not a cold pricking—a sharp _burning._ It doesn't make sense." Lidia touched the front of her collar and slowly pushed it up until the spikes pressed into her throat. She gasped at the four points of instant, searing heat and pulled the spikes away.

"You're right. This is not normal." She vaguely recalled the myth that werewolves were highly allergic to silver. From what she could tell, the light gray spikes certainly looked like pure silver. She peered down at her trembling hands as she balanced herself against a kitchen counter. "I think…I don't know what to think!" her voice choked as she felt all reason take flight in the absence of a reasonable explanation. "What if they're telling the truth? What if we really are wolf creatures now and they really are vampires?"

Szilveszter looked at the kitchen oven where he could read a small digital clock. "It is barely past three in the morning. The sun will rise in a few more hours." He leaned forward over the kitchen counter with a determined stare. "Vampires burn in the sunlight. We will eat something, rest a bit, and then check out the surroundings at first light." Lidia nodded in agreement with this plan. Szilveszter reached for her hand and draped his palm over her dainty fingers. "For what it's worth, I am sorry that I did not kill that man who aimed to strike you. I won't let any danger come to you as long as we're here together." Lidia gave him a faint smile.

"Just try not to die, okay? I don't like seeing you hurt, either." Even though she still hardly knew this man, he was possibly the only one left in the world who she could rely on.

"I shall try." The two newborn lycans fixed themselves a couple of hot chicken sandwiches and found that they were hungry enough for two more chicken sandwiches. Once they were full and quenched with the surprisingly crisp water from the fridge dispenser, they went back to their shared quarters. Lidia searched the room for pajamas and found two sets of light gray and black pajama tops and bottoms in one of the dresser drawers. She found that both pairs were designed for a male body approximately six feet tall, which was too tall for her and too short for Szilveszter.

"I suppose these will do until they find us better-fitting clothes," she said as she handed her roommate the black pair. "You can change here; I'll take the bathroom." She changed out of her dress and came back to the room in the gray nightclothes. Szilveszter had placed his other outfit on a chair near the side of the bed he claimed for himself. Lidia draped her dress over another chair, suddenly feeling sleepy. She shut off the light and slid herself under the bed sheets on the other side. The collar was a mild and constant annoyance, but the pajamas, bed sheets, and pillow were all so soft and comfortable that she could almost forgive their vampire hosts. Coming from a humble and uneducated family, she felt quite privileged to be surrounded by such luxuries. "If I fall asleep, Szil, wake me up before you leave."

"I will."

Several times in the next few hours, Lidia moaned in her sleep whenever she felt the man in the bed rise up to check the windows for the first signs of daylight. Eventually, she felt his large hand cup her shoulder. "Lidia, it is time. Come outside with me," he spoke with a low, secretive tone. The young woman grunted stubbornly, not quite ready to leave the bed.

"You just go," she replied in a drowsy monotone. "I want to sleep." Szilveszter nodded with understanding and slipped on his boots before he headed to the front door. A low rustling of clothing on hard wood floors caught his ear, and he spun around to see the Count and Countess at the top of the stairs.

"Ah, you're up already?" the Count asks with an amused smile. "I was about to write you a note, but I suppose I can tell you in-person that you may amuse yourselves here with anything you wish." He saw where Szilveszter was headed. "Do you know where you're going?"

"Outside. I want to take a walk," Szilveszter said as he stared back at the couple. "Would you care to join me?" The Countess chuckled at the question.

"You must have forgotten, dear; we are vampires. The sun is rising, and its rays must not touch us."

"You may walk outside, if you wish," Count Ulrik said without a care. "You won't get past the walls of our dominion, but you may explore at your leisure. Just be home before sunset, if you please. We have much to teach you both."

Szilveszter was shocked by how nonchalant the vampires responded to his request. He half-expected guards to rush in to stop him with silver arrows loaded into crossbows. With a tiny nod, Szilveszter opened the door and gave the vampires a parting look of confusion before he closed the door behind him. He stared at the hills and valleys that made up a sliver of the vampires' world isolated behind the thick wall. The castle was the obvious cornerstone that must have housed the well-dressed nobles that he saw earlier in the stone hall. He could hear the fountain running nearby. Somewhere above, birds were chirping to welcome the new dawn. _If I was here of my free will, I might have called this place paradise,_ he pondered as he began to walk around the house. Somewhere behind the house, he saw large mounds of land that were hollowed inwards like man-made caves. A small neighborhood of buildings clustered around the caves. With no one else around, Szilveszter decided to travel closer for a better look. The two-mile trek didn't seem long at all in his comfortable shoes and pajamas—even if the arms, legs, and torso all came up a bit short on him. The grass soon turned to dirt at the mouth of the first cave. From what the first sun rays of the day revealed, Szilveszter could deduce that this was a mine. Small chunks in the inner walls denoted where ores were hammered around and plucked out. Szilveszter couldn't see very far into the cave without a light source, but he didn't care to see any more. The buildings nearby further supported the function of the mine. Inside the shelters were work stations for sorting what was mined into tubs for cleaning and polishing. Next to the stations, several partially-filled carts were labeled and lined up to deliver the products. Out of curiosity, Szilveszter reached into the cart labeled "Silver" and picked up a piece. "Ah!" he exclaimed as his hand burned just from holding the metal. He dropped it back in the cart and grimaced at his reddened hand that was slowly turning back to its original tone. _There is no doubt now that silver is poisonous to me. And to Lidia. And to…whatever species we are now. Speaking of which, where are the others? _

Szilveszter spent the majority of the morning and afternoon searching the land for the other lycans without success. He found three mines behind Count Ulrik's house, several other infrastructure projects, stables and pastures for sleepy horses, more homes belonging to nobility, and a single smithy not too far from the castle. He even found the entrance gate that seemed to be the only entrance and exit point in the wall. The bars on the gate were impossible to squeeze between, and the pulley mechanisms to raise it would require at least two men on either side from on top of the wall. Even with Lidia's help, escape was futile. Eventually, his hunger moved him back toward the Ulriks' house. He thought of a nice, hearty stew with a cold beer. Nothing sounded better than a Soproni cherry pale lager at the moment. When he opened the front door, Lidia was at the kitchen table reading a biology book on the many practical uses and functions of bacteria.

"Hello," she called to him as he joined her in the kitchen. "Were you outside all day in your pajamas?"

"Looking around, gathering research," he replied as he opened up the fridge. "Have you seen any beer in this place?"

"No, I haven't." Lidia put her book down and turned her chair toward him. "But did you know that alcohol is made when yeast eats up sugar to make carbon dioxide and ethanol? It works best without oxygen in the system, and it's called…" She stole a peek at the book index. "…fermentation." Szilveszter couldn't help but smile when he saw how happy Lidia was about learning science.

"I did not know that. Did you make anything to eat?" He poked through the pantry and the kitchen shelves and gave up on looking for beer.

"I made myself bacon and eggs when I woke up. I haven't made dinner yet."

"Where's the vampire couple?"

"In the crypt. They left a note on our door." Lidia grabbed a folded piece of paper beside her and unfolded it to show him the message. A small strip of tape was folded over the side. "It reads: _We are sleeping in the crypt downstairs. Take care not to disturb us. Here are books that we hope delight you_." Lidia set the note back on the table. "I found this book and two others by the door. They are exactly the expensive ones I would have needed to buy for school."

The tall man scoffed and headed for the fridge again as he thought of what food sounded good to him. "Even if you could earn the degree here, what would be the point? There is nothing to do with that knowledge in this place. There are just houses and mines and medieval watchtowers and a workshop for making weaponry and armor…but no beer." His brown eyes lit up as he spun around on his heel to face her. "That's it!" He grinned excitedly. "You can study up on that fer…fermentilization, and then make us a Hungarian brewery."

Lidia laughed and nodded, thinking that could be a realistic goal. "I would need the proper equipment, like the barrels and storing space, and a place to malt and mash grain…" Szilveszter shrugged.

"I'll see what I can do to help you, even if I have to make every brick myself." He turned back to the fridge and pulled out one of the packages of ground hamburger. "How about I make us some beef stroganoff?"

Lidia watched him with a smile. "You cook?"

"No, but for you, I will try."

At Szilveszter's insistent request, Lidia politely stayed out of his way as he prepared the stroganoff. He sautéed the beef with a generous amount of soft butter. He then tossed in mushrooms, onions, and sour cream with the beef and let that sit to one side as he searched for some broth. Luckily, he found a carton of beef broth and Dijon mustard to complete the sauce. Lidia made a mental note that he forgot to add in the flour, but she dared not say anything. Once he was satisfied with the blend, he boiled some short, buttered noodles in a tall pot for the base. Ten minutes later, he placed two large plates of beef stroganoff on the kitchen table. "Please enjoy," he said with a small smile.

"Thank you," Lidia returned his smile and sat down in the chair he pulled out for her. Whatever reformatory school Szilveszter was initially traveling to, Lidia didn't see how he needed it. She waited until he sat down in the adjacent chair before lifting a bite of noodles and meat to her lips. The runny broth dripped from the fork, but she didn't care. The meat was exceptionally tasty. The noodles, however, were still on the tougher side. Szilveszter stared at her as she took her first bite, anticipating her reaction. "It's good," she told him with an appreciative smile. "I think the mushrooms really bring out the flavor." He seemed to accept this and started on his own plate of food. After a few mouthfuls, he stopped chewing and sighed.

"The noodles are too hard." He slowly shook his head and then glanced at her. "I can make you another plate, if you'd like."

"Oh, no, I'm fine," Lidia assured him at once. "I'll still eat them." Szilveszter stared into her eyes for a few seconds and then continued eating without another word. They were nearly finished with their meal about five minutes later when thick bolts unlock from down below.

"That is them," Lidia told her companion who appeared confused by the noise. "The crypt downstairs is where they sleep during the day. They're coming back up."

The Count and Countess closed the steel door that protected their daytime refuge and emerged out of the back of the hall closet. "Good evening," the Countess smiled as she entered the dining room. "I see you've made use of the kitchen." She eyed the pot on the stove still coated in sauce residue. "It goes without saying that you are expected to clean up after yourselves."

"I will take care of it," Lidia said, suddenly out of her seat. No longer hungry, she picked up her plate, scraped off the remaining morsels into the trash bin, and then started on the dishes at the sink. Szilveszter put down his fork and followed Lidia to the sink with his empty plate. He set his dish in the sink and then picked up a dry towel to dry the cleaned dishes. Once they finished with the kitchen cleaning, the Count appeared with four of the court guards.

"Your training begins now," he announced with a proud gleam in his eye and gestured to the men around him. "These are your trainers. They will help you learn the many ways you'll be expected to defend yourselves—and us." He met Lidia's eyes first. "Lidia, you will go with these two for target practice." The two guards on the Count's right-hand side stepped forward. "Szilveszter, you will focus on ground combat today." The other two guards stepped forward and stared at the male lycan in warning. "I suggest you cooperate," Ulrik added. "Disobedience will be strictly punished."

The lycans shared a silent, dubious look before accepting this plan. Lidia let her pair of guards lead her to the training grounds where she was suited in light armor and given a simple archer's bow. She found early on that she had a natural knack for accuracy with the weapon. Her trainers saw fit to upgrade her weapon to a crossbow, which provided more of a challenge given the significant increases in weight and power. Lidia was pleasantly surprised with how much fun she was having with her training so far. It was encouraging to see her arrows sink into the bulls-eyes and the straw mannequins.

Szilveszter's training was less smooth and required several reminders that he was not his own boss anymore. However, he gave the vampires an honest fight with as much strength as he could hold in his fists. His trainers noted that the tall lycan male was much more interested in live targets than dummies or punching bags. Throughout the session, Szilveszter noted that his trainers were not novices when it came to taking a lycan down a few pegs. Nothing he did seemed to catch them off-guard as if they were waiting for him to misbehave. Toward the end, he decided that he would comply with whatever was asked of him. It was starting to sink in that he was in a situation he could not win or gain control of.

When the lycans were together again at the end of the night, little was said of their experiences. "They want me to try again with the crossbow tomorrow," Lidia murmured with a yawn as she rolled over toward her side of their bed.

"Bastards," Szilveszter growled as he lay flat on his back with his arms crossed.

"There's no way out of here, is there?" Lidia asked dejectedly, already knowing the answer. Szilveszter sighed and gave the matter some thought.

"This is a big place. We should explore more of it tomorrow, or whenever we wake up." Lidia silently agreed, and the two drifted off to sleep.

Lidia and Szilveszter enjoyed a solid sleep until mid-afternoon when the sun was just past its peak. After a quiet breakfast of oatmeal with brown sugar, raisins, and a splash of milk, the lycan pair put on fresh clothes and ventured outside.

Szilveszter led Lidia around all the places he saw on his first day out of the house, starting with the mines. Fresh footprints in the dirt indicated recent usage. "I'll bet this place gets busy at night," Szilveszter muttered as the mixed stenches of sweat and blood hit his nostrils from the back of the cave. He didn't want to know what the very bottom smelled like. Suddenly, he didn't feel like showing her the other projects and stations around the courtyard where there were telltale signs of torture. Then he recalled one place beyond the stables that seemed a little out of place. "Come on, I'll show you one of the curiosities I found." Lidia followed him back toward the house and farther beyond toward the great castle. If one didn't pay too close attention to the details, one might have found the castle and the surrounding area majestic and beautiful. Lidia smiled at the stables full of sleepy, well-fed horses. A brown head poked out of one of the stall windows and nickered curiously as they passed.

"What is this curiosity?" she asked, wondering what was more entertaining than visiting the animals.

"We are nearly there," Szilveszter returned, raising a long arm to point at a sturdy-looking cement building. "It looks like an above-ground bunker, doesn't it?" He stopped at the metal door and pulls up the heavy bolt that secured the door closed. Lidia watched as he forced the metal door open to let the sunlight stream in. She walked inside, her eyes widening as she took in the gleaming array of weapons that decorated the walls. Everything from arrows, bows, swords, daggers, slingshots, and guns with assorted ammunition poured from shelves, racks, and tall containers. From a distant loft elevated above the courtyard, a pair of blue eyes watched the lycans enter the ground armory.

"There's enough in here to supply an entire army," Lidia breathed in wonder.

"An entire army of slaves," Szilveszter agreed. Lidia now saw why her companion found this a curious finding. He drew a sword from its sheath that hung on the wall and brandished it to observe the blade. Lidia had to squint her eyes to look at it. Even when the blade was not directly in the light, the metal itself was somehow painful to look at.

"Do you think any of this will kill a vampire—a real vampire?" Lidia asked as logic demanded to know why the vampires would allow so many weapons in the midst of their involuntary workers.

"Put that down," a crisp voice commanded from the building's doorway. Szilveszter's eyes flashed with hate as he turned the sword toward the stranger.

"Leave us, or else," the Magyar threatened through bare teeth as he examined the stranger. The man had long dark brown hair with a scruffy beard that gave him the appearance of a mountain man in his early 30s at the oldest. Instead of wearing a lumberjack's flannel, the man wore a simple woolen shirt and dark brown pants of similarly modest material. Szilveszter and Lidia noted the barbaric collar locked around his neck.

"For Elders' sake, put that down before you do something foolish!" the man repeated, advancing inside a few steps. Szilveszter was not convinced that this stranger had his best interest at heart. The bearded man recognized this and slowly raised his hands in a peaceful gesture, wincing uncomfortably as he eyed the silver blade. "It's alright," he tried again in a softer tone. "I mean you no harm." He eventually had to break his gaze from the blade and looked imploringly at the female that stood by the other male's side. "These weapons will not help you here. In fact, all of these are incredibly lethal against you."

"Who are you?" Szilveszter spoke in a voice that was not entirely unkind. Curiosity to know more about this place was winning over his initial fear of being attacked.

"Put the sword back, and we shall talk." Szilveszter's stubbornness yielded at last. Without taking his eyes off the stranger, he slid the sword back into its leather pocket. "Come with me," the stranger continued in the same, soft tone as he walked out of the building. Szilveszter wrapped a protective arm behind Lidia's shoulders, and the two walked out together.

"Are you a lycan too?" Lidia asked the man who made short work of sealing the doors. "I didn't think we'd run into anyone else over here."

The stranger smiled widely at the girl. "That makes two of us," he said as he began the walk to his personal dwelling above his smithy. "I have not seen another of my brethren above ground in the light in almost a decade." He gives Lidia a small nod, his smile faltering. "I am a lycan, yes. My name is Lucian." He looked over his shoulder toward the man who stood a whole head and neck taller than him. "You both are new here, no doubt. I would have recognized you. Do you know how you got here?"

"We were kidnapped on a bus," Szilveszter supplied with a bitter frown. "We were drugged, woke up in jail, drugged again, and then some _balfasz_ tells us that we are now his "daylight guardians."

"It's true," Lidia backed him up. "We live with the Count and Countess Ulrik." She shook her head with confusion. "They really want us to defend them from monsters while they sleep, or something."

Lucian's eyes lit up at the mention of the vampire elites. "How interesting," he replied blankly. "Here we are." They came to his abode and Lucian opened the door to admit his guests inside. He closed the door behind them and offered them the two seats he had around his sole table. "May I bring anyone water or biscuits?"

"Water will be fine," Lidia answered with a smile, still satisfied from the oatmeal. Szilveszter nodded in agreement, and Lucian fixed three clay cups of water.

"You ought to consider yourselves very fortunate," said Lucian after taking a small sip from his cup. "A number of lycans here have spent most of their lives trying to earn the level of trust you were gifted." He caught the dubious look the new lycans shared across the table.

"Like you?" Szilveszter challenged, chalking this guy up as a bonafide sellout.

"My whole life," Lucian admitted. "I was born into servitude for Viktor. I know no other life, nor do I wish to know any other." The final bit raised Lidia's hopes.

"Are you happy here, Lucian?" curiosity begged her to know. "Even with these?" She taps on the side of her collar.

Lucian gave the matter some thought. He rarely considered his own emotions when the vampires' wishes always held priority. As an Elder's favorite, he enjoyed significant privileges that were not shared with any other lycan. He was able to keep his own weapons, have a living space of his own, and roam about the property as he pleased. However, it all came at the expense of tolerance toward the mistreatment he witnessed on a nightly basis that tugged on his personal conscience. The vampire overseers had a bad habit of flicking their whips at any slave who was not completely concentrated on his task. This was problematic to Lucian because they had poor judgment seeing between a lycan's lack of motivation and his lack of available energy to possibly strain himself any harder. Nonetheless, the tortured cries were always difficult to hear.

But then there was Sonja, the flawlessly beautiful vampire princess who was as clever and witty a speaker as she was with her sword. Her heart was noble and good, and far beyond the worthiness of an overreaching servant. Lucian had berated himself for years for fancying a forbidden relationship until she finally confessed having feelings for him in return. When he was with her in the few, fleeting moments they shared, all screams ceased, and all social statuses disappeared in thin air. Their love and their future together was all Lucian wanted in his picture of true happiness.

"Yes, I would say I am happy here. But I would also say that happiness comes to those who look for it. But if you will permit me one question..." He glanced between the two of them. "Do you think you, too, could be happy here?"

"We are slaves here," Szilveszter pointed out. "You expect us to be happy when we've lost our freedom? Our very humanity?" He tugs at the base of his collar. "This is not a quality life!"

Lucian studied the other male with cool eyes. He had heard the same speech from many a proud changeling before. "Do you feel the same?" he asked the female.

Lidia had no strong stance, unlike her companion. "I come from a small village miles away from the big city. In a sense, I guess I've always felt like I was below somebody else on the social ladder." She points toward her neck. "But this is a step too far. I don't think I could ever get used to sleeping with this hunk of metal around my throat." Lucian smiled apologetically at her response.

"Forgive me, miss. I'm afraid that is my fault." He bowed his head to avoid her eyes for just a moment. "When I crafted the moon shackles, function was my first and last priority. Viktor cared not for comfort and wouldn't permit me to use any more resources than necessary."

"So you're the blacksmith who built these," Szilveszter concluded, his eyelids forming narrow slits. "How could you? To your own kind!" This was another unoriginal sentiment from a changed lycan.

"Contrary to what you may think, I am not a traitor," Lucian defended, putting a trace of edge into his voice. "I try to help a lycan in need when I can. I try to ease the worries of the newly changed so that they might understand and accept their new roles—just as I am doing now talking to you both." He took another sip of his water. "But you must understand that I must obey when I am ordered. It is our lot to serve them. They hold all the cards, as they always have. I could have made the shackles without protest in my own smithy, or I could have made them in a poorly-lit dungeon with a silver whip at my back." He leaned toward Szilveszter. "Don't think for a moment that you couldn't be any worse off. With a snap of his fingers, the Count can have you flayed within an inch of your life."

Lidia frowned at the terrible thought. "Do you think we should be heading back now?" she asked Szilveszter who looked equally ready to leave.

"Yes, let's not overstay our welcome," the Magyar rumbled as he stood up from the chair. "When our vampires wake up, we can tell them where to go to have their boots thoroughly licked." He crossed to the door to let himself out. "Thank you for the water." Lidia mouthed a quick "thanks" to Lucian and practically jogged outside to keep up with Szilveszter's long legs.

"I do not like that one. He's completely brainwashed," Szilveszter muttered as he reached the ground level.

"He was born in this place," Lidia interjected. "I don't think he knows any other perspective."

"I don't care. We will not trust him. You heard him yourself; he would rather help enslave other people than give up a few personal comforts. A selfish rat, through and through."

Count Ulrik and the Countess woke up at sundown to the rich smell of brisket sandwiches. "Good evening," the Count greeted the two lycans who were finishing their dinner.

"Good evening," Lidia and Szilveszter returned in unison.

"Are you ready for another productive night?" the Count asked as he turned toward the foyer. As if on cue, the vampire trainers rapped promptly on the front door. Lidia finished her sandwich and pushed out of her chair to clear up. Of all the activities to do tonight, she supposed that a little shooting practice wasn't the worst. Lucian's warning that she could be living in far worse conditions still gripped her thoughts. Szilveszter moved to help her, and then the two of them were led away to their separate areas of focus.

"Try to be strong," Lidia whispered to her friend. "I don't think I could bear being without you here."

"Nor I without you," Szilveszter murmured with a loving gaze at the fair face that depended on him. "See you before sunrise." With that, they parted ways and tried their best to follow orders.

Several nights of training passed similarly for the lycans who were increasingly improving in their respective skills. Lidia was now ninety percent accurate with a crossbow, and Szilveszter was becoming quite proficient with dual swords. The Count and Countess were in audience when Szilveszter's trainer proposed for him to fight one of the two captive werewolves kept in the dungeon for tactical training. The shaggy beast was released in an oval-shaped enclosure lined with stone walls to face the tall lycan standing at about half of its size. The Magyar brandished his twin blades, and the wolf started to charge. Szilveszter waited for it to come within fifteen feet of him before he leapt high above the ground and spun 180 degrees in the air. By the time the wolf reacted to turn around and meet him in the air, Szilveszter's blades crossed like an "X" at its throat. A lateral flick of both wrists separated the beast's head from its shoulders. The lycan landed beside the fallen wolf and transferred both hilts into his right hand before he looked up at Count Ulrik to hear what was next. The vampire lord rose up and clapped softly with an approving nod of his head.

"I think they're both ready, my dear," he says with a side glance at his wife. "They can start their guarding duty tomorrow. And just in time for the full moon." The entire supernatural kingdom was aware of the steadily waxing white orb in the night sky. Szilveszter and Lidia had heard from their trainers about their enemies' enhanced power during this one night of the month. As members of a related wolfish species, the lycans could also expect a surge of power on this one night.

For the following day, Szilveszter and Lidia were instructed to sleep in their shared bedroom as much as possible. The werewolves would be most active at night and least active in the morning. However, there was a good chance that the wolves might breach the fortress walls in the late afternoon to catch the sleeping vampires unawares. Count Ulrik had this possibility in mind and ordered the lycans to guard the house starting mid-afternoon. "So," Lidia began as she rolled over on her side of the bed toward her companion. "This is our life now until we die." There was more amusement than disappointment in her tone.

"It would seem that way," Szilveszter grudgingly agreed. He would never admit it, but he felt a swelling of pride in his chest when the vampires congratulated him on his victory over the monster. Who didn't like praise after a job well done?

"I just wish there was something more exciting to do while waiting for an attack." Lidia had voiced on occasion how boring it was to go through all this training to be prepared for the chance a werewolf breaks through the massive wall.

"What do you have in mind?" Szilveszter asked, feeling like she was going somewhere with this. He had come to know her well. Her thoughts often ran alongside his now that they were in sync with each other's personalities. From the sly smile on her lips, Lidia had something on her mind for a while that she was finally about to share.

"Egy baba." Szilveszter blinked in surprise, then smiled. _A baby._ The thought had crossed his mind before, but he wouldn't dare propose such a thing unless he was certain she would approve. He was grateful that she brought it up first. He reached to cup her chin in his hand, and then he leaned forward to kiss her lips. He felt her hand caress his cheek as she pressed her lips to his. No words were needed to express the silent, romantic feelings they had built for each other over the past month. When Szilveszter slowly pulled away from the kiss, his eyes traveled down her neck, past her chest, and then rested on her stomach where the bed covers draped over her middle.

"Now?" he inquired, needing to hear words of consent before they went any further. After all they had been through together, he wouldn't chance breaking her trust in him. Lidia giggled excitedly and planted another kiss on his lips.

"Now."


End file.
